Just a quick note that refurbished Apple TV units are back in stock at Apple.com. Just a month ago, the Apple TV sold for $99, then dropped to $69. Now, for $59, you can pickup a refurbished one for almost half the original price, thanks to Apple's price drop oand the magic of refurb units! When Apple sells a refurbished device, it comes with a new warranty, and a new shell so there's no need to worry about scratches, fingerprints, etc. Considering that the Apple TV has no moving parts, there is really very little concern about buying a refurbished unit. I've bought three myself, so I can use AirPlay and send my iOS screen to just about any room in the house.

Sometimes you need to do some app housecleaning. Maybe your kid moved your apps around, or maybe you just want to see what apps you have. For example, I have 69 apps on the first screen and 67 on the second. Of course, they’re in folders, but sometimes I lose track and need to do an app purge. If you’re like me, or just need a fresh start, take a few quick steps through your settings to restore apps to their original layout.

A lot of detail is emerging about what you can expect in the coming weeks if you're interested in trying on or purchasing an Apple Watch. 9To5Mac has posted extensive detail about the Apple Watch displays and the process.

Apple has been trying to increase sales of iPhones at their retail stores, versus third party locations like BestBuy, Sprint, etc. In addition to higher profit margins by selling directly, Apple stores can upsell consumers on the benefits of owning Apple computers in addition to iPhones. One area where other retailers had an advantage was the ability to take in competing phones and offer credit.

Almost five years ago, on April 3, 2010, Steve Jobs introduced the iPad. But it wasn't a universally welcomed gadget. There were snickers about the name. People said it's just a bigger iPhone that doesn't make phone calls. Yet the iPad, and its successors, transformed the computing industry. Tablets had been around before then, but it took the iPad to set a standard for usability. When the original iPhone was introduced, Alan Kay who coined the phrase and concept of the Dynabook, told Steve that if he made it 8 x 5 inches he would "rule the world." That prediction came pretty close.

I use the Reminders app on my iPhone quite a bit. I’ll create a reminder to pick up my dry cleaning, buy my cousin a birthday present or pay a bill. When I create Reminders I usually set them to remind me on a certain day, at a certain time. Sometimes I have so many Reminders that it’s difficult to find a certain one before its set reminder time. For example, I made a Reminder to pay a fee for a school trip my son was going on. I forgot what the fee amount was and needed the information before the due date. Instead of tapping each folder and scrolling through them to find it, I simply accessed the Reminders search field.

The arrival of the Apple Watch is getting closer, with in-store demos beginning April 10 and the device going on sale April 24. On Thursday, Apple began releasing third-party apps that will work with the Apple Watch, including a number of popular apps such as Evernote, NYTimes, and Twitter. MacRumors has posted a comprehensive list of 32 apps along with a short description on what notifications and functionality each app will push to the Apple Watch. This helps you to get a clear picture of what the Apple Watch will be able to do. It's exciting to see these apps appear, and many are speculating that Apple Stores will be loading them onto the demo watches.

A recent change to my schedule has me commuting an extra two hours a week. Instead of looking at the extra time as an annoyance, I decided to make more use of the Podcasts app on my iPhone. However, the more subscriptions I have, the less organized they are in the Podcasts app. I have a variety of Podcasts on my iPhone, but I don’t want to be listen to meditation Podcasts while I’m driving down he road. That’s where the ability to create your own stations comes in handy.

IK Multimedia made the iRig 2 ($39.99) product available last week and sent us a review unit to test out. The iRig is a guitar interface that allows you to process signals from any electric guitar and listen to the output on your headphones. It now can send signal out to an amp or PA. I tested the iRig with several of my guitars running into a Line 6 Flextone and a Roland guitar amp, as well as with headphones. I also tested it up against the iRig Pro HD model, and have to say it performed nearly on a par with the fancier iRig model!

Apple products excel at offering equal amounts of fashion and function, so why shouldn't accessories be able to do the same? I had a chance to try Inateck's TBP-IA for iPad Air ($12.99) and it comes very close.

This is the official announcement of the iPhone Life Biweekly Giveaway! Be sure to enter the giveaway at iPhoneLife.com/giveaways to win prizes, which we'll announce April 6! We are raffling off tons of great accessories for FREE.

Last year Apple purchased Beats, which makes popular headphones and offers a subscription streaming music service. And now details of plans for Apple's new music subscription service based on Beats are emerging.

There are many ways to use Bluetooth devices with your iDevice (here shown on my iPhone).

First of all, there are two places to turn on Bluetooth. To turn it on in Control Center, swipe up from the bottom of your Homescreen and tap the Bluetooth symbol to turn it on (it will be white). To turn it off, tap it again. You can also access the Bluetooth settings from Settings > Bluetooth.

There are a lot of free weather apps, including the built-in one, so if you're going to download or even buy one, it has to offer something special. I downloaded the Weather : Universal Forecast (free) app, from Moveo and it does have some nice features.

If you've had the experience of getting a weak Wi-Fi signal in particular areas in your home because of the distance from the router or due to obstructions, a Wi-Fi repeater is the answer. And now you can buy an LED light bulb that doubles as a Wi-Fi repeater.

Do you have an idea for an app but lack the programming knowledge to begin building it? In this weekly blog series, How to Unleash Your Inner App Developer, I will take you, the non-programmer, step by step through the process of creating apps for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Join me each week on this adventure, and you will experience how fun turning your ideas into reality can be! This is Part 11 of the series. If you're just getting started now, check out the beginning of the series here. (This post has been updated to Swift and iOS 8)

Now that you have some of the basics of Swift programming under your belt, it's time to dive into some deeper coding territory. To get the latest version of iAppsReview, select this link.